Chapter 2

The Emperor Wears No=20
Clothes

By Jack Herer

A Brief Summary of the Uses of =
Hemp=20

If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper =
and=20
construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the =
Greenhouse=20
Effect and stop deforestation, then there is only one known annually =
renewable=20
natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of =
the=20
world=E2=80=99s paper and textiles; meeting all of the world=E2=80=99s =
transportation,=20
industrial and home energy needs; simultaneously reducing pollution, =
rebuilding=20
the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time. That =
substance is=20
the same one that did it all before, Cannabis Hemp =E2=80=A6 =
Marijuana!

Ships & =
Sailors

From at least the 5th century B.C. until the late-19th century, =
90=20
percent of all ships=E2=80=99 sails were made from hemp. The other =
10 percent=20
were usually flax or minor fibers like ramie, sisal, jute, abaca, =
etc.

The word =E2=80=9Ccanvas=E2=80=9D1 is the Dutch pronunciation (twice =
removed, from French and=20
Latin) of the Greek word =E2=80=9CKannabis.=E2=80=9D*

*Kannabis, of the (Hellenized) Mediterranean Basin Greek language, =
derived=20
from the Persian and earlier Northern Semitics (Quanuba, Kanabosm, =
Cana?,=20
Kanah?) which scholars have now traced back to the dawn of the =
6,000-year-old=20
Indo-Semitic European language family base of the Sumerians and =
Acadians. The=20
early Sumerian/Babylonian word K(a)N(a)B(a), or Q(a)N(a)B(a) is one of =
man=E2=80=99s=20
longest surviving root words.1 (KN means cane and B means two, two reeds =
or two=20
sexes.)

In addition to canvas sails, virtually all of the rigging, anchor =
ropes,=20
cargo nets, fishing nets, flags, shrouds, and oakum (the main protection =
for=20
ships against salt water, used as a sealant between the outer and inner =
hull of=20
ships) were made from the stalk of the marijuana plant.

Even the sailors=E2=80=99 clothing, right down to the stitching in =
the seamen=E2=80=99s=20
rope-soled and (sometimes) =E2=80=9Ccanvas=E2=80=9D shoes, was crafted =
from cannabis. An average=20
cargo, clipper, whaler, or naval ship of the line, in the 16th, 17th, =
18th, or=20
19th centuries carried 50 to 100 tons of cannabis hemp rigging, not to =
mention=20
the sails, nets, etc., and needed it all replaced every year or two, due =
to salt=20
rot. (Ask the U.S. Naval Academy, or see the construction of the USS=20
Constitution, a.k.a. =E2=80=9COld Ironsides,=E2=80=9D Boston =
Harbor.)

Additionally, the ships=E2=80=99 charts, maps, logs, and Bibles were =
made from paper=20
containing hemp fiber from the time of Columbus (15th century) until the =
early=20
1900s in the Western European/American World, and by the Chinese from =
the 1st=20
century A.D. on. Hemp paper lasted 50 to 100 times longer than most =
preparations=20
of papyrus, and was a hundred times easier and cheaper to make.

Incredibly, it cost more for a ship=E2=80=99s hempen sails, ropes, =
etc. than it did=20
to build the wooden parts.

Nor was hemp use restricted to the briny deep=E2=80=A6

Textiles & =
Fabrics

Until the 1880s in America (and until the 20th century in most of the =
rest of=20
the world), 80 percent of all textiles and fabrics used for clothing, =
tents, bed=20
sheets and linens, rugs, drapes, quilts, towels, diapers, etc., and even =
our=20
flag, =E2=80=9COld Glory,=E2=80=9D were principally made from fibers of =
cannabis.

For hundreds, if not thousands of years (until the 1830s), Ireland =
made the=20
finest linens and Italy made the world=E2=80=99s finest cloth for =
clothing with hemp.=20
The 1893-1910 editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica indicate, and in =
1938,=20
Popular Mechanics estimated that at least half of all the material that =
has been=20
called linen was not made from flax, but from cannabis. Herodotus =
(c. 450=20
B.C.) describes the hempen garments made by the Thracians as equal to =
linen in=20
fineness and that =E2=80=9Cnone but a very experienced person could tell =
whether they=20
were of hemp or flax.=E2=80=9D

Although these facts have been almost forgotten, our forebears were =
well=20
aware that hemp is softer than cotton, warmer than cotton, more water =
absorbent=20
than cotton, has three times the tensile strength of cotton and is many =
times=20
more durable than cotton.

In fact, when the patriotic, real-life, 1776 mothers of our present =
day=20
blue-blood =E2=80=9CDaughters of the American Revolution=E2=80=9D (the =
DAR of Boston and New=20
England) organized =E2=80=9Cspinning bees=E2=80=9D to clothe =
Washington=E2=80=99s soldiers, the majority=20
of the thread was spun from hemp fibers. Were it not for the =
historically=20
forgotten (or censored) and currently disparaged marijuana plant, the=20
Continental Army would have frozen to death at Valley Forge, =
Pennsylvania.

The common use of hemp in the economy of the early republic was =
important=20
enough to occupy the time and thoughts of our first U.S. Treasury =
Secretary=20
Alexander Hamilton, who wrote in a Treasury notice from the 1790s, =
=E2=80=9CFlax and=20
Hemp: Manufacturers of these articles have so much affinity to each =
other, and=20
they are so often blended, that they may with advantage be considered in =
conjunction. Sailcloth should have 10% duty=E2=80=A6=E2=80=9D

(Herndon, G.M., Hemp in Colonial Virginia, 1963; DAR histories; Able =
Ernest,=20
Marijuana, the First 12,000 Years; also see the 1985 film Revolution =
with Al=20
Pacino.)

The covered wagons went west (to Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Oregon, =
and=20
California*) covered with sturdy hemp canvas tarpaulins, 2 while ships =
sailed=20
around the =E2=80=9CHorn=E2=80=9D to San Francisco on hemp sails and =
ropes.

The original, heavy-duty, famous Levi pants were made for the =
California=20
=E2=80=9849ers out of hempen sailcloth and rivets. This way the pockets =
wouldn=E2=80=99t rip=20
when filled with gold panned from the sediment.3

Homespun cloth was almost always spun, by people all over the world, =
from=20
fibers grown in the =E2=80=9Cfamily hemp patch.=E2=80=9D In America, =
this tradition lasted from=20
the Pilgrims (1620s) until hemp=E2=80=99s prohibition in the 1930s. In =
the 1930s,=20
Congress was told by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics that many =
Polish-Americans=20
still grew pot in their backyards to make their winter =E2=80=9Clong =
johns=E2=80=9D and work=20
clothes, and greeted the agents with shotguns for stealing their next =
year=E2=80=99s=20
clothes.

The age and density of the hemp patch influences fiber quality. If a =
farmer=20
wanted soft linen-quality fibers he would plant his cannabis close =
together. As=20
a rule of thumb, if you plant for medical or recreational use, you plant =
one=20
seed per five square yards. When planted for seed: four to five feet =
apart.

(Univ. of Kentucky Agricultural. Ext. leaflet, March 1943.)

One-hundred-twenty to 180 seeds to the square yard are planted for =
rough=20
cordage or coarse cloth. Finest linen or lace is grown up to 400 plants =
to the=20
square yard and harvested between 80 to 100 days.

By the late 1820s, the new American hand cotton gins (invented by Eli =
Whitney=20
in 1793) were largely replaced by European-made =
=E2=80=9Cindustrial=E2=80=9D looms and cotton=20
gins (=E2=80=9Cgin=E2=80=9D is short for engine), because of =
Europe=E2=80=99s primary=20
equipment-machinery-technology (tool and die making) lead over =
America.

Fifty percent of all chemicals used in American agriculture today are =
used in=20
cotton growing. Hemp needs no chemicals and has few weed or insect=20
enemies=E2=80=94except for the U. S. government and the DEA.

For the first time, light cotton clothing could be produced at less =
cost than=20
hand retting (rotting) and hand separating hemp fibers to be handspun on =
spinning wheels and jennys.4

However, because of its strength, softness, warmth and long-lasting=20
qualities, hemp continued to be the second most-used natural fiber until =
the=20
1930s. In case you=E2=80=99re wondering, there is no THC or =
=E2=80=9Chigh=E2=80=9D in hemp fiber. That=E2=80=99s=20
right; you can=E2=80=99t smoke your shirt! In fact, attempting to smoke =
hemp fabric, or=20
any fabric, for that matter, could be fatal!

After the 1937 Marijuana Tax law, new DuPont =E2=80=9Cplastic =
fibers,=E2=80=9D under license=20
since 1936 from the German company I.G. Farben (patent surrenders were =
part of=20
Germany=E2=80=99s World War I reparation payments to America), replaced =
natural hempen=20
fibers. (Some 30% of I.G. Farben, under Hitler, was owned and financed =
by=20
America=E2=80=99s DuPont.) DuPont also introduced Nylon (invented in =
1935) to the market=20
after they=E2=80=99d patented it in 1938.

(Colby, Jerry, DuPont Dynasties, Lyle Stewart, 1984.)

Finally, it must be noted that approximately 50 percent of all =
chemicals used=20
in American agriculture today are used in cotton growing. Hemp needs no=20
chemicals and has few weed or insect enemies, except for the U.S. =
government and=20
the DEA.

Fiber & Pulp =
Paper

Until 1883, from 75-90 percent of all paper in the world was made =
with=20
cannabis hemp fiber, including that for books, Bibles, maps, paper =
money, stocks=20
and bonds, newspapers, etc. The Gutenberg Bible (in the 15th century);=20
Pantagruel and the Herb pantagruelion, Rabelais (16th century); King =
James Bible=20
(17th century); Thomas Paine=E2=80=99s pamphlets, The Rights of Man, =
Common Sense, The=20
Age of Reason (18th century); the works of Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Mark Twain, =
Victor=20
Hugo, Alexander Dumas; Lewis Carroll=E2=80=99s Alice in Wonderland (19th =
century); and=20
just about everything else was printed on hemp paper.

The first draft of the Declaration of Independence (June 28, 1776) =
was=20
written on Dutch (hemp) paper, as was the second draft completed on July =
2,=20
1776. This was the document actually agreed to on that day and announced =
and=20
released on July 4, 1776. On July 19, 1776, Congress ordered the =
Declaration be=20
copied and engrossed on parchment (a prepared animal skin) and this was =
the=20
document actually signed by the delegates on August 2, 1776.

Hemp paper lasted 50 to 100 times longer than most preparations of =
papyrus,=20
and was a hundred times easier and cheaper to make.

What we (the colonial Americans) and the rest of the world used to =
make all=20
our paper from was the discarded sails and ropes sold by ship owners as =
scrap=20
for recycling into paper. The rest of our paper came from our worn-out =
clothes,=20
sheets, diapers, curtains and rags, made primarily from hemp and =
sometimes flax,=20
then sold to scrap dealers. Hence the term =E2=80=9Crag =
paper.=E2=80=9D

Our ancestors were too thrifty to just throw anything away, so, until =
the=20
1880s, any remaining scraps and clothes were mixed together and recycled =
into=20
paper. Rag paper, containing hemp fiber, is the highest quality and =
longest=20
lasting paper ever made. It can be torn when wet, but returns to its =
full=20
strength when dry. Barring extreme conditions, rag paper remains stable =
for=20
centuries. It will almost never wear out. Many U.S. government papers =
were=20
written, by law, on hempen =E2=80=9Crag paper=E2=80=9D until the =
1920s.5

It is generally believed by scholars that the early Chinese =
knowledge, or=20
art, of hemp paper making (1st century A.D., 800 years before Islam =
discovered=20
how, and 1,200 to 1,400 years before Europe) was one of the two chief =
reasons=20
that Oriental knowledge and science were vastly superior to that of the =
West for=20
1,400 years. Thus, the art of long-lasting hemp papermaking allowed the=20
Orientals=E2=80=99 accumulated knowledge to be passed on, built upon, =
investigated,=20
refined, challenged and changed, for generation after generation (in =
other=20
words, cumulative and comprehensive scholarship).

The other reason that Oriental knowledge and science sustained =
superiority to=20
that of the West for 1,400 years was that the Roman Catholic Church =
forbade=20
reading and writing for 95% of Europe=E2=80=99s people; in addition, =
they burned, hunted=20
down, or prohibited all foreign or domestic books, including their own =
Bible!,=20
for over 1,200 years under the penalty and often-used punishment of =
death.=20
Hence, many historians term this period =E2=80=9CThe Dark Ages=E2=80=9D =
(476 A.D.=E2=80=931000 A.D., or=20
even until the Renaissance). (See Chapter 10 on Sociology.)

Rope, Twine & =
Cordage

Virtually every city and town (from time out of mind) in the world =
had an=20
industry making hemp rope.6 Russia, however, was the world=E2=80=99s =
largest producer=20
and best-quality manufacturer, supplying 80% of the Western =
world=E2=80=99s hemp from=20
1640 until 1940.

Chief among these was hemp for cordage. He wrote, =E2=80=9CHemp =
flourishes even to=20
rankness, we do not want for cordage.=E2=80=9D Then he went on to list =
the other=20
essentials necessary for war with the British navy: cannons, gun-powder, =
etc.

From 70-90% of all rope, twine, and cordage was made from hemp until =
1937. It=20
was then replaced mostly by petrochemical fibers (owned principally by =
DuPont=20
under license from Germany=E2=80=99s I.G. Farben Corporation patents) =
and by Manila=20
(Abaca) Hemp, with steel cables often intertwined for strength, brought =
in from=20
our =E2=80=9Cnew=E2=80=9D far-western Pacific Philippines possession, =
seized from Spain as=20
reparation for the Spanish American War in 1898.

Art Canvas

Hemp is the perfect archival medium.7

The paintings of Van Gogh, Gainsborough, Rembrandt, etc., were =
primarily=20
painted on hemp canvas, as were practically all canvas paintings.

For thousands of years, virtually all good paints and varnishes were =
made=20
with hempseed oil and/or linseed oil.

Paints & =
Varnishes

For instance, in 1935 alone, 116 million pounds (58,000 tons*) of =
hempseed=20
were used in America just for paint and varnish. The hemp drying oil =
business=20
went principally to DuPont petro-chemicals.8

*National Institute of Oilseed Products congressional testimony =
against the=20
1937 Marijuana Transfer Tax Law. As a comparison, consider that the U.S. =
Drug=20
Enforcement Administration (DEA), along with all America=E2=80=99s state =
and local=20
police agencies, claim to have seized for all of 1996, 700+ tons of=20
American-grown marijuana: seed, plant, root, dirt clump and all. Even =
the DEA=20
itself admits that 94 to 97 percent of all marijuana/hemp plants that =
have been=20
seized and destroyed since the 1960s were growing completely wild and =
could not=20
have been smoked as marijuana.

Congress and the Treasury Department were assured through secret =
testimony=20
given by DuPont in 1935-37 directly to Herman Oliphant, Chief Counsel =
for the=20
Treasury Dept., that hempseed oil could be replaced with synthetic =
petrochemical=20
oils made principally by DuPont.

Oliphant was solely responsible for drafting the Marijuana Tax Act =
that was=20
submitted to Congress.9 (See complete story in Chapter 4, =E2=80=9CThe =
Last Days of=20
Legal Cannabis.=E2=80=9D)

Until about 1800, hempseed oil was the most consumed lighting oil in =
America=20
and the world. From then until the 1870s, it was the second most =
consumed=20
lighting oil, exceeded only by whale oil.

Biomass Energy

In the early 1900s, Henry Ford and other futuristic, organic, =
engineering=20
geniuses recognized (as their intellectual, scientific heirs still do =
today) an=20
important point, that up to 90% of all fossil fuel used in the world =
today=20
(coal, oil, natural gas, etc.) should long ago have been replaced with =
biomass=20
such as: cornstalks, cannabis, waste paper and the like.

Biomass can be converted to methane, methanol or gasoline at a =
fraction of=20
the current cost of oil, coal, or nuclear energy, especially when =
environmental=20
costs are factored in, and its mandated use would end acid rain, end=20
sulfur-based smog, and reverse the Greenhouse Effect on our planet, =
right now!=20
Government and oil and coal companies, etc., will insist that burning =
biomass=20
fuel is no better than using up our fossil fuel reserves, as far as =
pollution=20
goes; but this is patently untrue.

This can be accomplished if hemp is grown for biomass and then =
converted=20
through pyrolysis (charcoalizing) or biochemical composting into fuels =
to=20
replace fossil fuel energy products. Remarkably, when considered on a=20
planet-wide, climate-wide, soil-wide basis, cannabis is at least four =
and=20
possibly many more times richer in sustainable, renewable =
biomass/cellulose=20
potential than its nearest rivals on the planet, cornstalks, sugarcane, =
kenaf,=20
trees, etc.

One product of pyrolysis, methanol, is used today by most race cars =
and was=20
used by American farmers and auto drivers routinely with =
petroleum/methanol=20
options starting in the 1920s, through the 1930s, and even into the =
mid-1940s to=20
run tens of thousands of auto, farm and military vehicles until the end =
of World=20
War II.

Methanol can even be converted to a high-octane lead-free gasoline =
using a=20
catalytic process developed by Georgia Tech University in conjunction =
with Mobil=20
Oil Corporation.

Medicine

From 1842 through the 1890s, extremely strong marijuana (then known =
as=20
cannabis extractums) and hashish extracts, tinctures and elixirs were =
routinely=20
the second and third most-used medicines in America for humans (from =
birth,=20
through childhood, to old age) and in veterinary medicine until the =
1920s and=20
longer.

(See Chapter 6 on =E2=80=9CMedicine,=E2=80=9D and Chapter 13 on the =
=E2=80=9C19th Century.=E2=80=9D)

As stated earlier, for at least 3,000 years, prior to 1842, widely =
varying=20
marijuana extracts (buds, leaves, roots, etc.) were the most commonly =
used and=20
widely accepted medicines in the world for the majority of =
mankind=E2=80=99s=20
illnesses.

However, in Western Europe, the Roman Catholic Church forbade use of =
cannabis=20
or any medical treatment, except for alcohol or blood letting, for =
1200-plus=20
years.

(See Chapter 10 on =E2=80=9CSociology.=E2=80=9D)

The U.S. Pharmacopoeia indicated that cannabis should be used for =
treating=20
such ailments as: fatigue, fits of coughing, rheumatism, asthma, =
delirium=20
tremens, migraine headaches and the cramps and depressions associated =
with=20
menstruation.

Queen Victoria used cannabis resins for her menstrual cramps and PMS, =
and her=20
reign (1837-1901) paralleled the enormous growth of the use of Indian =
cannabis=20
medicine in the English-speaking world.

Food Oils & =
Protein

Hempseed was regularly used in porridge, soups, and gruels by =
virtually all=20
the people of the world up until this century. Monks were required to =
eat=20
hempseed dishes three times a day, to weave their clothes with it and to =
print=20
their Bibles on paper made with its fiber.

Hempseed can be pressed for its highly nutritious vegetable oil, =
which=20
contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids in the plant =
kingdom. These=20
essential oils are responsible for our immune responses and clear the =
arteries=20
of cholesterol and plaque.

The byproduct of pressing the oil from the seed is the highest =
quality=20
protein seed cake. It can be sprouted (malted) or ground and baked into =
cakes,=20
breads and casseroles. Marijuana seed protein is one of =
mankind=E2=80=99s finest, most=20
complete and available-to-the-body vegetable proteins. Hempseed is the =
most=20
complete single food source for human nutrition.

(See discussion of edestins and essential fatty acids, Chapter =
8.)

Hempseed was, until the 1937 prohibition law, the world=E2=80=99s =
number-one bird=20
seed, for both wild and domes-tic birds. It was their favorite* of any =
seed food=20
on the planet; four million pounds of hempseed for songbirds were sold =
at retail=20
in the U.S. in 1937. Birds will pick hempseeds out and eat them first =
from a=20
pile of mixed seed. Birds in the wild live longer and breed more with =
hempseed=20
in their diet, using the oil for their feathers and their overall =
health.

Hempseed produces no observable high for humans or birds. Only the =
most=20
minute traces of THC are in the seed. Hempseed is also the favorite fish =
bait in=20
Europe. Anglers buy pecks of hempseed at bait stores, and then throw =
handfuls=20
into rivers and ponds. Fish come thrashing for the hempseed and are =
caught by=20
hook. No other bait is as effective, making hempseed generally the most=20
desirable and most nutritious food for humans, birds and fish.

Building Materials &=20
Housing

Because one acre of hemp produces as much cellulose fiber pulp as 4.1 =
acres=20
of trees,* hemp is the perfect material to replace trees for pressed =
board,=20
particle board and for concrete construction molds.

Practical, inexpensive fire-resistant construction material, with =
excellent=20
thermal and sound-insulating qualities, is made by heating and =
compressing plant=20
fibers to create strong construction paneling, replacing dry wall and =
plywood.=20
William B. Conde of Conde=E2=80=99s Redwood Lumber, Inc. near Eugene, =
OR, in conjunction=20
with Washington State University (1991=E2=80=931993), has demonstrated =
the superior=20
strength, flexibility, and economy of hemp composite building materials =
compared=20
to wood fiber, even as beams.

Isochanvre, a rediscovered French building material made from hemp =
hurds=20
mixed with lime, actually petrifies into a mineral state and lasts for =
many=20
centuries. Archeologists have found a bridge in the south of France, =
from the=20
Merovingian period (500=E2=80=93751 A.D.), built with this process. (See =
Ch=C3=A8nevotte=20
habitat of Ren=C3=A9, France in Appendix I.)

Hemp has been used throughout history for carpet backing. Hemp fiber =
has=20
potential in the manufacture of strong, rot resistant carpeting, =
eliminating the=20
poisonous fumes of burning synthetic materials in a house or commercial =
fire,=20
along with allergic reactions associated with new synthetic =
carpeting.

So we can envision a house of the future built, plumbed, painted and=20
furnished with the world=E2=80=99s number-one renewable resource, =
hemp.

Smoking, Leisure &=20
Creativity

The American Declaration of Independence recognizes the =
=E2=80=9Cinalienable rights=E2=80=9D=20
of =E2=80=9Clife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.=E2=80=9D =
Subsequent court decisions have=20
inferred the rights to privacy and choice from this, the U.S. =
Constitution and=20
its Amendments.

Of course, smoking marijuana only enhances creativity for some and =
not for=20
others.

But throughout history, various prohibition and =
=E2=80=9Ctemperance=E2=80=9D groups have=20
attempted and occasionally succeeded in banning the preferred =
relaxational=20
substances of others, like alcohol, tobacco or cannabis.

Abraham Lincoln responded to this kind of repressive mentality in =
December,=20
1840, when he said =E2=80=9CProhibition/goes beyond the bounds of reason =
in that it=20
attempts to control a man=E2=80=99s appetite by legislation and makes a =
crime out of=20
things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very =
principles upon which our government was founded.=E2=80=9D

Economic Stability, Profit =
& Free=20
Trade

We believe that in a competitive market, with all facts known, people =
will=20
rush to buy long-lasting, biodegradable =E2=80=9CPot Tops=E2=80=9D or =
=E2=80=9CMary Jeans,=E2=80=9D etc., made=20
from a plant without pesticides or herbicides.

It=E2=80=99s time we put capitalism to the test and let the =
unrestricted market of=20
supply and demand, as well as =E2=80=9CGreen=E2=80=9D ecological =
consciousness, decide the=20
future of the planet.

A cotton shirt in 1776 cost $100 to $200, while a hemp shirt cost .50 =
cents=20
to $1. By the 1830s, cooler, lighter cotton shirts were on par in =
price=20
with the warmer, heavier, hempen shirts, providing a competitive =
choice.

People were able to choose their garments based upon the particular =
qualities=20
they wanted in a fabric. Today we have no such choice.

The role of hemp and other natural fibers should be determined by the =
market=20
of supply and demand and personal tastes and values, not by the undue =
influence=20
of prohibition laws, federal subsidies and huge tariffs that keep the =
natural=20
fabrics from replacing synthetic fibers.

Seventy years of government suppression of information has resulted =
in=20
virtually no public knowledge of the incredible potential of the hemp =
fiber or=20
its uses.

By using 100 percent hemp or mixing hemp with organic cotton, you =
will be=20
able to pass on your shirts, pants and other clothing to your =
grandchildren.=20
Intelligent spending could essentially replace the use of petrochemical=20
synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester with tougher, cheaper, =
cool,=20
absorbent, breathing, biodegradable, natural fibers.

China, Italy and Eastern European countries such as Hungary, Romania, =
Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Russia currently make millions of dollars =
worth of=20
sturdy hemp and hemp/cotton textiles, and could be making billions of =
dollars=20
worth annually.

These countries build upon their traditional farming and weaving =
skills,=20
while the U.S. tries to force the extinction of this plant to prop up=20
destructive synthetic technologies.

Even cannabis/cotton blend textiles were still not cleared for direct =
sale in=20
the U.S. until 1991. The Chinese, for instance, were forced by tacit =
agreement=20
to send us inferior ramie /cottons.

(National Import/Export Textile Company of Shanghai, personal =
communication=20
with author, April and May 1983.)

As the 1990 edition of Emperor went to press, garments containing at =
least 55=20
percent cannabis hemp arrived from China and Hungary. In 1992, as we =
went to=20
press, many different grades of 100% hemp fabric had arrived directly =
from China=20
and Hungary. Now, hemp fabric is in booming demand all over the world, =
arriving=20
from Romania, Poland, Italy, Germany, et al. Hemp was recognized as the =
hottest=20
fabric of the 1990s by Rolling Stone, Time, Newsweek, Paper, Detour, =
Details,=20
Mademoiselle, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Der Spiegel, ad =
infinitum. All have run, over and over again, major stories on =
industrial and=20
nutritional hemp.

Additionally, hemp grown for biomass could fuel a trillion-dollar per =
year=20
energy industry, while improving air quality and distributing the wealth =
to=20
rural areas and their surrounding communities, and away from centralized =
power=20
monopolies. More than any other plant on Earth, hemp holds the promise =
of a=20
sustainable ecology and economy.

When Hemp Saved George =
Bush=E2=80=99s=20
Life

One more example of the importance of hemp: Five years after cannabis =
hemp=20
was outlawed in 1937, it was promptly reintroduced for the World War II =
effort=20
in 1942.

So, when the young pilot, George Bush, baled out of his burning =
airplane=20
after a battle over the Pacific, little did he know:

- Parts of his aircraft engine were lubricated with cannabis hempseed =
oil;

- 100 percent of his life-saving parachute webbing was made from U.S. =
grown=20
cannabis hemp;

- Virtually all the rigging and ropes of the ship that pulled him in =
were=20
made of cannabis hemp.

- The fire hoses on the ship (as were those in the schools he had =
attended)=20
were woven from cannabis hemp; and,

- Finally, as young George Bush stood safely on the deck, his =
shoes=E2=80=99 durable=20
stitching was of cannabis hemp, as it is in all good leather and =
military shoes=20
to this day.

Yet Bush has spent a good deal of his career eradicating the cannabis =
plant=20
and enforcing laws to make certain that no one will learn this =
information =E2=80=93=20
possibly including himself. . .

The Battle of Bulletin =
404

The Setting

In 1917, the world was battling World War I. In this country, =
industrialists,=20
just beset with the minimum wage and graduated income tax, were sent =
into a=20
tailspin. Progressive ideals were lost as the United States took its =
place on=20
the world stage in the struggle for commercial supremacy. It is against =
this=20
backdrop that the first 20th century hemp drama was played.

The Players

The story begins in 1916, soon after the release of USDA Bulletin 404 =
(see=20
page 24). Near San Diego, California, a 50-year-old German immigrant =
named=20
George Schlichten had been working on a simple yet brilliant invention.=20
Schlichten had spent 18 years and $400,000 on the decorticator, a =
machine that=20
could strip the fiber from nearly any plant, leaving the pulp behind. To =
build=20
it, he had developed an encyclopedic knowledge of fibers and paper =
making. His=20
desire was to stop the felling of forests for paper, which he believed =
to be a=20
crime. His native Germany was well advanced in forestry and Schlichten =
knew that=20
destroying forests meant destroying needed watersheds.

Henry Timken, a wealthy industrialist and inventor of the roller =
bearing got=20
wind of Schlichten=E2=80=99s invention and went to meet the inventor in =
February of=20
1917. Timken saw the decorticator as a revolutionary discovery that =
would=20
improve conditions for mankind. Timken offered Schlichten the chance to =
grow 100=20
acres of hemp on his ranch in the fertile farmlands of Imperial Valley,=20
California, just east of San Diego, so that Schlichten could test his=20
invention.

Shortly thereafter, Timken met with the newspaper giant E.W. Scripps, =
and his=20
long-time associate Milton McRae, at Miramar, Scripps=E2=80=99 home in =
San Diego.=20
Scripps, then 63, had accumulated the largest chain of newspapers in the =
country. Timken hoped to interest Scripps in making newsprint from hemp=20
hurds.

Turn-of-the-century newspaper barons needed huge amounts of paper to =
deliver=20
their swelling circulations. Nearly 30% of the four million tons of =
paper=20
manufactured in 1909 was news-print; by 1914 the circulation of daily =
newspapers=20
had increased by 17% over 1909 figures to over 28 million copies.1 By =
1917, the=20
price of newsprint was rapidly rising, and McRae, who had been =
investigating=20
owning a paper mill since 1904,2 was concerned.

Sowing the Seeds

In May, after further meetings with Timken, Scripps asked McRae to=20
investigate the possibility of using the decorticator in the manufacture =
of=20
newsprint.

McRae quickly became excited about the plan. He called the =
decorticator =E2=80=9Ca=20
great invention. . . [which] will not only render great service to this =
country,=20
but it will be very profitable financially. . . . [it] may revolutionize =
existing conditions.=E2=80=9D On August 3, as harvest time neared, a =
meeting was=20
arranged between Schlichten, McRae, and newspaper manager Ed Chase.

Without Schlichten=E2=80=99s knowledge, McRae had his secretary =
record the three-hour=20
meeting stenographically. The resulting document, the only known record =
of=20
Schlichten=E2=80=99s voluminous knowledge found to date, is reprinted =
fully in Appendix=20
I.

Schlichten had thoroughly studied many kinds of plants used for =
paper, among=20
them corn, cotton, yucca, and Espana baccata. Hemp, it seemed, was his =
favorite:=20
=E2=80=9CThe hemp hurd is a practical success and will make paper of a =
higher grade than=20
ordinary news stock,=E2=80=9D he stated. His hemp paper was even better =
than that=20
produced for USDA Bulletin 404, he claimed, because the decorticator =
eliminated=20
the retting process, leaving behind short fibers and a natural glue that =
held=20
the paper together. At 1917 levels of hemp production Schlichten =
anticipated=20
making 50,000 tons of paper yearly at a retail price of $25 a ton. This =
was less=20
than 50% of the price of newsprint at the time! And every acre of hemp =
turned to=20
paper, Schlichten added, would preserve five acres of forest.

McRae was very impressed by Schlichten. The man who dined with =
presidents and=20
captains of industry wrote to Timken, =E2=80=9CI was to say without =
equivocation that=20
Mr. Schlichten impressed me as being a man of great intellectuality and =
ability;=20
and so far as I can see, he has created and constructed a wonderful =
machine.=E2=80=9D He=20
assigned Chase to spend as much time as he could with Schlichten and =
prepare a=20
report.

Harvest Time

By August, after only three months of growth, Timken=E2=80=99s hemp =
crop had grown to=20
its full height =E2=80=93 14 feet!, and he was highly optimistic about =
its prospects. He=20
hoped to travel to California to watch the crop being decorticated, =
seeing=20
himself as a benefactor to mankind who would enable people to work =
shorter hours=20
and have more time for =E2=80=9Cspiritual development.=E2=80=9D Scripps, =
on the other hand, was=20
not in an optimistic frame of mind. He had lost faith in a government =
that he=20
believed was leading the country to financial ruin because of the war, =
and that=20
would take 40% of his profits in income tax.

In an August 14 letter to his sister, Ellen, he said: =E2=80=9CWhen =
Mr. McRae was=20
talking to me about the increase in the price of white paper that was =
pending, I=20
told him I was just fool enough not to be worried about a thing of that =
kind.=E2=80=9D=20
The price of paper was expected to rise 50%, costing Scripps his entire =
year=E2=80=99s=20
profit of $1,125,000! Rather than develop a new technology, he took the =
easy way=20
out: the Penny Press Lord simply planned to raise the price of his =
papers from=20
one cent to two cents.

The Demise

On August 28, Ed Chase sent his full report to Scripps and McRae. The =
younger=20
man also was taken with the process: =E2=80=9CI have seen a wonderful, =
yet simple,=20
invention. I believe it will revolutionize many of the processes of =
feeding,=20
clothing, and supplying other wants of mankind.=E2=80=9D

Chase witnessed the decorticator produce seven tons of hemp hurds in =
two=20
days. At full production, Schlichten anticipated each machine would =
produce five=20
tons per day. Chase figured hemp could easily supply Scripps=E2=80=99 =
West Coast=20
newspapers, with leftover pulp for side businesses. He estimated the =
newsprint=20
would cost between $25 and $35 per ton, and proposed asking an East =
Coast paper=20
mill to experiment for them.

McRae, however, seems to have gotten the message that his boss was no =
longer=20
very interested in making paper from hemp. His response to =
Chase=E2=80=99s report is=20
cautious: =E2=80=9CMuch will be determined as to the practicability by =
the cost of=20
transportation, manufacture, etc., etc., which we cannot ascertain =
without due=20
investigation.=E2=80=9D Perhaps when his ideals met with the hard work =
of developing=20
them, the semi-retired McRae backed off.

By September, Timken=E2=80=99s crop was producing one ton of fiber =
and four tons of=20
hurds per acre, and he was trying to interest Scripps in opening a paper =
mill in=20
San Diego. McRae and Chase traveled to Cleveland and spent two hours =
convincing=20
Timken that, while hemp hurds were usable for other types of paper, they =
could=20
not be made into newsprint cheaply enough. Perhaps the eastern mill at =
which=20
they experimented wasn=E2=80=99t encouraging =E2=80=93 after all, it was =
set up to make wood=20
pulp paper.

By this time Timken, too, was hurt by the wartime economy. He =
expected to pay=20
54% income tax and was trying to borrow $2 million at 10% interest to =
retool for=20
war machines. The man who a few weeks earlier could not wait to get to=20
California no longer expected to go west at all that winter. He told =
McRae, =E2=80=9CI=20
think I will be too damn busy in this section of the country looking =
after=20
business.=E2=80=9D

The decorticator resurfaced in the 1930s, when it was touted as the =
machine=20
that would make hemp a =E2=80=9CBillion Dollar Crop=E2=80=9D in articles =
in Mechanical=20
Engineering and Popular Mechanics.* (Until the 1993 edition of The =
Emperor, the=20
decorticator was believed to be a new discovery at that time.) Once =
again, the=20
burgeoning hemp industry was halted, this time by the Marijuana Tax Act =
of=20
1937.

Why Not Use =
Hemp to=20
Reverse the

Greenhouse Effect & Save =
the=20
World?

In early 1989, Jack Herer and Maria Farrow put this question to Steve =
Rawlings, the highest ranking officer in the U.S. Department of =
Agriculture (who=20
was in charge of reversing the Greenhouse Effect), at the USDA world =
research=20
facility in Beltsville, Maryland.

First, we introduced ourselves and told him we were writing for Green =
political party newspapers. Then we asked Rawlings, =E2=80=9CIf you =
could have any=20
choice, what would be the ideal way to stop or reverse the Greenhouse=20
Effect?=E2=80=9D

He said, =E2=80=9CStop cutting down trees and stop using fossil =
fuels.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWell, why don=E2=80=99t we?=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CThere=E2=80=99s no viable substitute for wood for paper, or =
for fossil fuels.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWhy don=E2=80=99t we use an annual plant for paper and for =
biomass to make=20
fuel?=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWell, that would be ideal,=E2=80=9D he agreed. =
=E2=80=9CUnfortunately there is nothing you=20
can use that could produce enough materials.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWell, what would you say if there was such a plant that =
could substitute for=20
all wood pulp paper, all fossil fuels, would make most of our fibers =
naturally,=20
make everything from dynamite to plastic, grows in all 50 states and =
that one=20
acre of it would replace 4.1 acres of trees, and that if you used about =
6% of=20
the U.S. land to raise it as an energy crop, even on our marginal lands, =
this=20
plant would produce all 75 quadrillion billion BTUs needed to run =
America each=20
year? Would that help save the planet?=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CThat would be ideal. But there is no such =
plant.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWe think there is.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CYeah? What is it?=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CHemp.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CHemp!=E2=80=9D he mused for a moment. =E2=80=9CI never would =
have thought of it. You know, I=20
think you=E2=80=99re right. Hemp could be the plant that could do it. =
Wow! That=E2=80=99s a=20
great idea!=E2=80=9D

We were excited as we outlined this information and delineated the =
potential=20
of hemp for paper, fiber, fuel, food, paint, etc., and how it could be =
applied=20
to balance the world=E2=80=99s ecosystems and restore the =
atmosphere=E2=80=99s oxygen balance=20
with almost no disruption of the standard of living to which most =
Americans have=20
become accustomed.

In essence, Rawlings agreed that our information was probably correct =
and=20
could very well work.

He said, =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s a wonderful idea, and I think it might =
work. But, of course,=20
you can=E2=80=99t use it.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CNo, not even to save the world. It=E2=80=99s illegal. You =
can=E2=80=99t use it. Period.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CDon=E2=80=99t get me wrong. It=E2=80=99s a great =
idea,=E2=80=9D he went on, =E2=80=9Cbut they=E2=80=99ll never let=20
you do it.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWhy don=E2=80=99t you go ahead and tell the Secretary of =
Agriculture that a crazy=20
man from California gave you documentation that showed hemp might be =
able to=20
save the planet and that your first reaction is that he might be right =
and it=20
needs some serious study. What would he say?=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CWell, I =
don=E2=80=99t think I=E2=80=99d be here=20
very long after I did that. After all, I=E2=80=99m an officer of the =
government.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CWell,=20
why not call up the information on your computer at your own USDA =
library.=20
That=E2=80=99s where we got the information in the first =
place.=E2=80=9D

He said, =E2=80=9CI can=E2=80=99t sign out that =
information.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWell, why not? We did.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CMr. Herer, you=E2=80=99re a citizen. You can sign out for =
anything you want. But I=20
am an officer of the Department of Agriculture. Someone=E2=80=99s going =
to want to know=20
why I want all this information. And then I=E2=80=99ll be =
gone.=E2=80=9D

Finally, we agreed to send him all the information we got from the =
USDA=20
library, if he would just look at it.

He said he would, but when we called back a month later, he said that =
he=20
still had not opened the box that we sent him and that he would be =
sending it=20
back to us unopened because he did not want to be responsible for the=20
information, now that the Bush Administration was replacing him with its =
own=20
man.

We asked him if he would pass on the information to his successor, =
and he=20
replied, =E2=80=9CAbsolutely not.=E2=80=9D

In May 1989, we had virtually the same conversation and result with =
his=20
cohort, Dr. Gary Evans of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and =
Science, the=20
man in charge of stopping the global warming trend.

In the end, he said, =E2=80=9CIf you really want to save the planet =
with hemp, then=20
you [hemp/marijuana activists] would find a way to grow it without the =
narcotic=20
(sic) top and then you can use it.=E2=80=9D

This is the kind of frightened (and frightening) irresponsibility =
we=E2=80=99re up=20
against in our government.